


A Justified Crime

by Thialien



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Blood, Crimes & Criminals, Male Friendship, Medical Procedures, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-28
Updated: 2012-11-29
Packaged: 2017-11-19 17:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/576030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thialien/pseuds/Thialien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Perfect crime means leaving no eye witness. After finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, strange things started to happen around the 15 years old tennis prodigy, Fuji Shuusuke. He feared for his life, but the last thing he wanted to do was involving his loving family and his devoted teammates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_For the sake of the loved one, he would go to the extent of killing another, breaking his oath as the one to save life._

* * *

I heard the loud beeping sound.

What could it be?

It was a very dark room. The only source of light was the dimmed bed lamp. The curtain was closed, barely letting any light from the outside. From a little opening, a glimpse of moonlight found its way through, illuminating a small thing on the pristine white table by the window. It was the only thing that showed a sense of life in the grim place.

Among those huge machineries meant for life support, there was a small photo in a simple plastic frame. A picture of a young brown haired boy holding a tennis racquet, innocent smile plastered on his face. He was happily clinging to another boy whose stern face was partly covered by a white cap, a tennis ball in his free hand. It was a happy moment. There was a note behind the frame, clearly written by hand.

Tohru and Ryoma. January 20th, 20xx

He was a very lively boy before everything cropped up. Unfortunate things happened with or without our consent, and that was how the world worked. There was no trace of the previous happy grin on that pale anorexic face of his. He was no longer youthful. His lips were dry and chapped, slightly parted where the tube was inserted. His sunken eyes were closed, lifeless behind the heavy lids. He was dying. No one would realize that he was still alive if not for the beeping sound from the monitor, steadily recording his heart rate. What had he done to deserve this kind of fate?

How small he was compared to those supporting machines, lying helplessly on the white linen. His whole body system had been overridden by technologies, ensuring his survival. Only God knows if his soul was still in there.

His organs were failing. He wasn’t even breathing on his own.

The machine beeped loudly. Before long, a nurse came in and turned off the alarm. She was a typical looking Japanese woman in her mid-thirties, black curly hair tied neatly behind her head. She got bags under her eyes, and there was no make-up used to conceal it. She was wearing an apron and sterile boots. The only thing that identifies her as a nurse of an exclusive private hospital was her uniform and her nametag.

Despite her tired expression, she skillfully replaced an empty syringe from an auto-infusion machine with a standard intravenous line. She opened a metal drawer and took a sterile transparent fluid bag. She hung it near the bed post, connecting the tube to one of many others attached on the body.

“Dinner time,” she murmured softly, adjusting the drop-rate to 4cc per minute. She checked her watch and turned to the bedside, scribbling something.

**Protein infusion. 20:00. Check.**

She set an alarm for precaution, checking for the other tubes, making sure every single fluid flowed accordingly. She squatted down and changed the urine bag.

“Done.”

She casted a sad glance at the comatose patient before finally exited the room. She still had 1 hour and 14 minutes before said patient finished his meal.

* * *

“Captain, good morning!”

“How are you, Captain?”

“Tezuka. How do you feel, anything hurt?”

“Sssssh, he’s sleeping.”

“There’re 68.5 percent probability that—“

“Enough.” Tezuka winced slightly as he sat upright, registering the visitors’ face one by one. Everyone was there, how convenient. He noticed Inui scribbled something on his notebook.

“There is 45.5 percent probability that Tezuka’s face winced just now due to the unbearable pain on the stomach. 30.5 percent due to headache. 20 percent because of our presence, and-” he trailed, considering something before looking up at his captain, “-what is your diagnosis again, Tezuka?” he asked, glasses glinting deviously. Was he being sarcastic? He must’ve known. He was Inui after all.

“Food poisoning.”

“Food poisoning! Nya! Captain has been poisoned!!” Eiji threw herself on the edge of the hospital bed. Oishi stood next to him, frowning in obvious concern.

“Really, Tezuka? What did you eat? You didn’t come to practice this morning and we were so worried." Oishi told him. Tezuka only responded with a 'hn' and focused his gaze behind the vice-captain. Kawamura was struggling with something in his backpack, while Momo and Kaidoh started bickering by his sides.

Oishi noticed the displeased look in the captain's eyes, "Um, Tezuka, we have a gift for you," he told him before ushering Eiji to help their juniors.

"Here we go Captain!" suddenly Tezuka saw bright yellow flashed in front of him. Tulips.

"Buchou, get well soon! You like them right?" Eiji bounced closer to him again. Tezuka frowned at the closeness, since Eiji's voice was high and loud. The acrobatic player's face fell, "Tezuka-buchou looks displeased. He doesn't like them, Nya!" he whined and glared at his juniors. They flinched.

"I didn't choose that one! I chose red roses!! Fsssssh!" Kaido yelled defensively. Inui scribbled something while muttering "ii data."

"But you agreed to buy that one. We're buying for a sick person, not a girlfriend or something," Momo retorted. Kaido hissed back at him. Kawamura sighed defeatedly between them.

"Mada mada dane, senpai. Told you to buy each of everything." Ryoma said, looking uninterested. "Color variations are good for sick person," he added. Tezuka was growing tired of hearing the word 'sick' now and then.

"Ochibi, that would make it very inartistic and messy Nya! Horrible!" Eiji whined louder. Ryoma paid no attention and played with his tennis racquet instead, thinking of giving them to Kawamura.

"Echizen, that's not nice." Oishi said warily. He needed to evacuate his teammates somehow before the captain exploded. Kawamura wiggled slightly,

"Hey, your bag is moving!" Eiji pointed at the backpack in Kawamura's hand.

"I don't know. This is not mine!" he exclaimed, looking at the shorter boy, "Echizen, it's yours!"

"Don't tell me-" Ryoma looked surprised. "Karupin!" a cat leapt out of the bag, jumping toward Momo.

"Get this thing off of me!!" he yelled in panic as the cat clawed his face mercilessly. Kaido tried to pry it off,

"He likes you I guess, heh." Kaido said sarcastically as Karupin refused to let his friend go. Its furs were standing, sign of his distress.

"Aaaaargh!!!" Momo shouted. A nurse barged in suddenly,

"What on earth is happening in here?!" her built was quite small, but her voice was loud and intimidating. She reminded them of their coach. She balanced an empty tray on a hand, and waving the other one impatiently, "You! This is a hospital, cat or any other animal is not allowed!!" she barked, glaring at Momo. The regulars only stared at the floor.

"This is your entire fault." Kaido hissed at Momo.

"No it isn't- someone please get this monster off of me!" his shouted again as Karupin struggled in his hold. The nurse looked like she was about to hit the students with the tray when a cold voice interrupted her.

"All of you except Inui and Oishi, 3 laps around the hospital." They didn't have to look to know whose voice it belonged too. 3 seemed like a small number, but this hospital was twice as large as their school building.

"That's unfair, I didn't do anything Nya!" Eiji whined, and the others followed. Tezuka ignored his protest,

"Kikumaru, 4 laps."

"Alright! Alright!" They scrambled and ran out, leaving the stunned nurse. Oishi sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry for the trouble," he apologized politely to the nurse. Inui was still scribbling who-know-what and the sound of pen against paper was quite noisy in the cramped ward,

"If I were you, I'd stop writing right now Inui." A honey haired boy stepped into the room.

"Fuji!" Oishi was startled a bit. The tensai was holding a suspicious looking box in his hand. Tezuka tried his best not to groan. The nurse smiled in amusement.

"This is your friend. It's fortunate I met him on the way and took him here, or else who knows what you kids might do to this ward." She said while collecting empty plates and cups from the side table. She turned to Fuji, "you're nice, but if you behave like your friends out there. I'm going to kick you out." she excused herself and left, muttering something about 'kids' and 'cats'.

"She's a nice nurse. What had you done to make her mad?" Fuji asked. Oishi sighed.

"It's a long story Fuji, I'll tell you later," he said and turned to Inui, "Inui, let's leave. I need to check on our teammates. Is that alright with you Tezuka?" he asked the Captain. Tezuka was utterly grateful to hear that.

"Aa," was all he said. Oishi and Inui left the room, leaving a frowning Tezuka and a smiling Fuji. The tensai wore a plain white long sleeved shirt and a dark pants instead of his uniforms like the others.

"Saa... You don't look please to see me..." Fuji teased him. Tezuka knew better than to respond. His gaze followed Fuji everywhere as the tensai unwraped a box with little holes around it. It seemed very suspicious.

"You didn't come with the others."

"I told Eiji to go first with the others. I met our history teacher at the corridor and she asked me to help her carrying stacks of papers," he explained, "probably tests. I think I saw your name, and it's a perfect score. No suprise," he added in an amused tone. Tezuka ignored the last comment.

"You took your time."

"Well, she mentioned something about a firework festival for school anniversary next month and we lost track of time. Student council project. Yours right?" he told Tezuka.

"Yes, and it’s in two weeks, not next month. But the firework was still unofficial. Don't tell anyone." He said. Fuji stepped closer and put the box on Tezuka's lap,

"Say hello to Jessica!" he exclaimed cheerfully. The captain could only stare at the pot of cactus in front of him. 'Jessica' didn't look any different from 'Karen' and 'Reiko' in his eyes. There were ten other pots at his home, and Fuji named each of them.

"..."

"Tezuka, say something. It's impolite!" Fuji shoved the box closer to Tezuka. The captain looked away, clearly distressed. "Ne, I invited her here and picked her up from home just for you." Tezuka shrugged a little and sighed.

"Fuji, it's a plant. You don't greet plants." He reasoned, but not expecting much logic from the other.

"Yes you do, and you will." Fuji insisted. Tezuka looked at the neatly decorated box and the healthy plan. Fuji brought it all the way here, no matter how ridiculous it was.

"H-hello... Jessica." He muttered with a supressed groan. Great, he gave up. He was sure next time Fuji would ask him to sing with the cactus.

"That wasn't so hard, right?" Fuji beamed at him, looking very satisfied. Tezuka held back a smile and looked away again.

Tezuka never minded Fuji's company. In fact, he enjoyed it. Even though Fuji was the polar opposite of him, he always found it amusing to watch the other. The only interest they shared was tennis and nature. Their other preferences in everything were different. But still, they enjoyed each other’s company.

"Ne, Tezuka is that Inui juice?" Fuji asked, pointing at a dangerous looking liquid container. Yes, Tezuka could never understand how the tensai's taste bud works.

"I didn't notice before." he told the honey haired boy. Fuji examined the small container, sniffing it a little.

"Can I have it?" he asked.

"Aa," he answered a little too quickly, earning a soft chuckle from Fuji.

"Thank you," Fuji slowly opened the lid. Tezuka relaxed a bit on the pillows while watching his friend downing the strange liquid. Fuji was a sadistic, mischievous, and irrational dear friend of his. But no matter how annoying he might get, he could never get tired watching him. Fuji and his antiques always interested him.

Tezuka stared at the box in his lap. His gaze softened a little. The cactus was small, moss green, with a bright yellow flower on the side. There was a purple ribbon tied around the pot, a note attached to it. Tezuka tried to reach it. But his finger accidentally grazed the small thorns.

"Ah!" Fuji was surprised when he felt Tezuka elbowed him on the ribs. Orange colored liquid poured on his front shirt. "Oh no, Tezuka..." he sighed.

"I'm sorry. It's a reflex." The captain apologized. Fuji noticed the blood on his finger and quickly reached for a tissue.

"It's ok. Here," he applied pressure on the prick wound. "Hold this for a while. I'm going to clean my shirt right away. Do you have any soap?" he asked.

"There's none. We came here unprepared." he answered. It was true, he suddenly collapse from pain and abdominal discomfort his parents had to rush him to the hospital right away. Fuji only smiled,

"What happened to 'don't let your guard down' Ne, Tezuka?" he teased. "It's fine. I'll ask the nurse if I can borrow something."

"Fuji, I'm sorry." Tezuka apologized again and reached something on the side drawer. "Here, cover them with this." he gave his neatly folded tennis jacket to Fuji.

"No, it's fine, really." Fuji refused softly. But since Tezuka didn't take no for an answer, he took it. "Ne, give me the tulips, I'll take care of it also." He offered and reached for an empty white vase near the bed.

"You don't have to-" Fuji ignored his protest and walked out the room.

"Be right back."

The hospital was very large, too large that the hundreds of medical workers and patients were hardly in sight, but that was understandable at this hour. There were lots of wards, corridors, and other medical rooms Fuji didn’t recognize. It had the usual cold hospital vibe, the air felt heavy with antiseptic.

Fuji always found hospital as an interesting place. It gave him a sense of unfamiliarity, strange, a bit gloomy, like he was no longer in his usual world. Still, he didn't like staying here too long. He sped up his steps until he found a nurse wearing a white apron.

"Excuse me miss, where can I find a restroom?” The nurse was startled but instantly smiled. He used the word ‘miss’ for someone as old as she was. She was flattered. Then she noticed his front shirt. “Or any place I can go to wash this? I have to go somewhere important after, and I can't go like this," Fuji continued and lifted the flower and the vase a bit, revealing the orange stain.

"Oh dear, did you accidentally spilled juice on your shirt?" she shook her head sympathetically. "Go straight until you find emergency stairs on the left, go down two floors, there's a washroom for janitors. And if you want to go back quickly, just turn left and there's a staff elevator there." she explained sweetly. "If you can't find it, just ask anyone there, I'm sure they'll tell you."

"I understand." Fuji replied, trying to remember everything.

"And please return immediately after that. That place is limited to staffs actually," she told him before adding, "Now go before your shirt turned orange permanently."

“Thank you very much!”

She shook her head and smiled. “What a very nice boy,” she muttered and turned away.

She took off her sterile apron, folding it before throwing the material to a basket nearby. She made her way down the hall and into her ‘special’ room. When she opened the door, she immediately threw herself on a large couch and stretched her limbs, groaning contently.

“Damn.” She cursed, suddenly remembered this whole area and wards had cameras installed practically everywhere. She sat upright, picking up a magazine on the floor, and started reading.

* * *

“I wonder if Tezuka get along nicely with Jessica.” Fuji smiled to himself, turning the water tap on. He found the cabinet full of cleaning supplies and picked a random tube, anything was fine.

He hummed softly while trying to clean his smudged shirt, rinsing it occasionally with flowing water. He realized that his soft humming voice echoed loudly in the bathroom. Too quiet, too cold, and too dark for his liking.

He quickly washed his hands, flapping his front shirt in a quick drying attempt. He grabbed the flowers and filled half the vase quickly with water. He turned the water tap off, grabbed his Tezuka's jersey, and quickly left the room with a flower vase in hand.

“Left. Left. Left.” he repeated, a bit confused. This part of area was unfamiliar. Though there was still this overwhelming disinfectant smell and unfriendly hospital vibe, this particular place was too secluded and eerily quiet. “Creepy.” Fuji muttered to ease himself. There were hanged white linens and green aprons everywhere along the corridor. Every walls and doors are the same. ‘Is this workers quarter?’ he thought.

Great, the prodigy was lost, in a mere hospital no less. Inui would be ecstatic if he saw Fuji like this. “Hello? Excuse me?” he called. Fuji groaned when he received no response. He glanced at his wristwatch.

09.18 PM

“Nee-san’s going to kill me.” He grumbled and put on his jacket. He run in the corridor, trying every door as he blamed the structures of this building. Every single door looked the same. Some were locked, even chained, and some looked like they were storage rooms, unused wards. He reached for the third door, hearing a strange sound.

Beep.

‘Not this one then.’ He thought and turned away.

Beep.

‘On second thought, maybe there’s someone in there.’ He reached the handle and let himself in.

“Hello?” Fuji called.

Beep.

“Anyone here?” he called again. Fuji inhaled nervously and walked further. The first thing he noticed was the dimmed bed lamp, machineries humming noises, then the lifeless body.

Beep.

* * *

It was a boring job, being assigned to a single patient in a community hospital this large. After all, she enrolled in a prestigious college for 5 years, and she was rather loved by most of her patients before this, before this boring cursed job.

She was a very capable nurse, ‘one of the best the hospital has ever set their eyes on’. It was what they said when they offered her a promotion, a better job with a better payment. She was eager, agreed too quickly. It turned out she had to play a private nurse for an exclusive patient. His identity was unknown to her, and she was told not to ask. She was ordered to tend to his every need.

It was another day before she was introduced to the whole team, three fellow nurses, two doctors, and two technicians. The meeting room was large, cold, and somehow isolated. They were still in the same hospital building, but they never knew that such rooms existed. She had been working here for 6 years, and she knew the hospital was large, complex, but not to this extend. She admired her surroundings, enthralled, before two man wearing black suits entered the room.

They laid several papers in front of them, contracts, time tables, instructions, and other documents. They told the team to read everything, and sign the contract. The condition was simple. “Just work like usual around this hospital while taking care of a special patient.” She read the resume and about to ask why such a special comatose kid in the secluded room needed this kind of treatment before the other continued, “No questions, and never breathe a word about this side job to anyone.” She swallowed her curiosity back. So this kid was special, and that was there to it.

She could never understand why they were keeping a practically 'dead' body alive and preserved? That was stupid. But she had no choice at the moment.

They agreed and signed the contract. She worked like usual after that, never asked a thing, rarely converse with her fellow ‘special’ medical workers. Very easy. 

It was at the end of the month when she received her first payment, cash, and an amount exceeding a surgeon’s monthly income. She knew she should have never taken this strange job.

09\. 20 PM

“It’s time.” She said to herself. She put on her shoes and walked away.

* * *

“Yes, Fuji-san. Yes. I’ll tell him later. I’m sorry.” Tezuka flipped the phone and placed it back beside the cactus. It was inappropriate answering someone else’s phone, but the phone kept on ringing and the caller id showed ‘Nee-san.’ He had to pick up.

Fuji had been gone for almost half an hour. Surely finding something to clean his shirt with wouldn’t take a very long time.

He stole a glance at the cactus pot and the note with a handwritten 'get well soon' attached to it.

Tezuka was worried.

* * *

She hated this corridor. She can endure the first few months. But surely, they didn’t expect her to work here for a life time, right? What was the point in keeping the boy alive anyway? They must have been hiding something dangerous probably, or controversial. Anything was possible. But no questions. It was what they said.

“No damn quest- GOD!” she nearly screamed. She never expected to see something moving when she opened the ward door. She slumped against the door frame, tiredness overwhelmed her.

“I’m sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you. I was-” Fuji stuttered. He was shocked himself. The nurse stared at him,

“You!” she exclaimed, slowly regaining composure. “I told you to return immediately.” She said, scolding the boy. Fuji bowed his head.

“I’m sorry.” He apologized again politely. She held back a groan, letting out a sigh instead, then turned to Fuji.

“Wait outside, I have to do something first. I’ll take you to your family’s ward after I’m done.” She said. He didn’t say anything as she ushered him out and closed the door.

Before he was stirred out of the room, Fuji stole a glimpse at a photo frame again he had seen earlier before the nurse caught him. The silhouette looked familiar. He squinted his eyes to see more clearly. “Stay here.” The nurse added again. Fuji gave her a wary smile and nod. Fuji didn’t know who the boy on the bed was or why he was there, but it was quite disheartening. As long as he can leave this strange place, he was eternally grateful.

Unaware of the cameras resting on every corner, Fuji silently waited for the nurse, a vase of yellow tulips in his arm.

* * *

“Tezuka, you won’t believe what has happened to me while I was looking for water and detergent!” Fuji said as he barged into his friend’s room. Tezuka looked up from his book, staring at the slightly worked up brunet.

“And you won’t believe how mad your sister sounded on the phone.” He told his friend. Fuji only blinked at the remark. He didn’t even tease Tezuka about answering other people’s call. He didn't even notice Tezuka used longer sentence than usual. He just shrugged.

“Ah yes, she should be.” He sighed as he closed the door behind him. “It means I need to go now.” He added. Tezuka watched as his friend placed the vase on the table beside him. Fuji shoved the phone into his pocket and grabbed the cactus pot, placing it inside its colorful box.

“Fuji.” the bespectacled boy called. He noticed, even though just a bit, that his friend’s movement was slightly agitated. Fuji himself might not realize it.

“Yes?” he asked. Tezuka only stared into the blue orbs. “Tezuka? Is there anything wrong?” he asked again, ready to leave with the box in hand. The bespectacled man was having an inner turmoil whether to ask if Fuji was alright or not.

“Nothing. Don’t let your guard down.” He stated his infamous line with indifferent expression on his face. The familiar warning eased the honey haired boy a bit. Fuji chuckled.

“Saa... I will, captain.” He said teasingly. “Goodbye Tezuka. Get well soon.” He opened the box in his hand, “say goodbye to Tezuka, Jessica.” He rocked the box slightly while repeating the word in a strange voice. Tezuka frowned slightly.

“Fuji...”

“Tezuka, you were supposed to say it too. Now you’ve hurt her twice in a day.” The prodigy made a face. He was always teasing. Tezuka didn’t know why he always relented and made a fool of himself in the end every time Fuji asked him to do anything ridiculous. First he was greeting a cactus, now he was saying goodbye to that plant.

“Goodbye, Jessica.”

There he did it. Fuji’s smile afterward made the embarrassment and irrationality worth a while.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02**

"Out! 6 – 3, Kaidou wins!"

"How can it be?!" Momo shouted with all his might. Just when he thought that he'd win after perfecting a completely new move at the end of the game, which Inui deemed as the most ineffective technique in the history of tennis, he lost.

"If he played like usual back then, his score would've been better," Inui muttered as he scribbled something on his notepad. He was moving to stand at the right side of the court, right behind Kaidou. "7 – 5 at best," he added, snapping his book closed.

"He'd still lost, right?" The viper snickered gleefully, glancing at his senior behind him. Inui looked amused,

"Well, it's inevitable." He replied. Even in his calculations, Momoshiro would still lose the game anyway.

"Hey! I can hear you, you know!" Momo shouted angrily behind the net.

"Lower you voice, is that how you talk to your senior?" Kaidou reprimanded his friend with a very satisfied tone. Even his face pissed Momoshiro a lot.

"Nya! Momoshiro is rude! He's rude!" Eiji chimed in as he stepped into the court, holding a racquet. Oishi followed him closely.

"If you don't mind, it's time for our doubles match." Oishi was as polite as always.

"Fine. I'll win next time, you hear that snake head?!" Momo taunted childishly. Kaidou only snorted back,

"Dream on, you peach." He retorted.

"Why you-" Momo didn't get to finish his sentence.

"Momoshiro Takeshi, Kaidou Kaoru, both of you! Out of the court now!" At the familiar sound of their coach, the two players stepped aside in haste, adding words of apology as they scrambled away.

"Let's go, Oishi!" Eiji dragged his friend toward the court, meeting their doubles opponent. His blue-eyed best friend already standing in the middle.

"Let's have a nice and fun game." Fuji said as they shook their hands in turn. Kawamura then turned around to pick up his racquet. A roar was heard.

"Game start! Fuji to serve."

Eiji whined as the ball disappeared gracefully.

* * *

"Fuji is in a good mood." Ryuuzaki noted as he watched the game. She sat beside Tezuka, who was watching the game carefully. The captain was discharged from the hospital yesterday, so he was still wearing his uniform today. Ryuuzaki specifically told him to sit out from today and tomorrow's practice. They witnessed the ball disappeared a second time. They could hear Eiji's loud 'that's unfair!' as he desperately tried to hit the ball. "What do you think, Tezuka?" Ryuuzaki asked.

"Kikumaru needs to work on his concentration more. He should've tried to observe the ball and the opponent's movement first. Until now he has been working his body needlessly trying to hit the ball." He answered. Ryuuzaki only nodded.

"True. His actions also disrupt his partner's concentration." She added, looking at Oishi who was having a hard time following his excited partner. Tezuka nodded again. "Who do you think would win, Tezuka?"

"If this continues, probably Fuji and Kawamura will win. It's a hard decision to make at the start of the game. Fuji is a competent single player, but this is a doubles match where Kikumaru and Oishi have more advantages. They had worked in sync for a long time, and both are a very capable tennis player." Tezuka explained. The coach smiled again at the team captain. Both continued to watch in silence.

Before long they could hear the ball hit a racquet. Oishi managed to touch the serve after concentrating for so long. The ball was fast and hard to see, but he could determine where it was from watching Fuji's movement as he serve. It was a wild, fun, and lucky guess on Oishi's side, but if this continued, they could get the gist of it quickly. Eiji happily hugged his friend before provoking their opponent for another serve. Fuji replied their taunt by serving normally.

"Nya! What's that?!" Eiji hit the ball clumsily, he was expecting the special serve. Fuji chuckled at Eiji's antique. "Fuji you're so mean!" he whined.

"Can't let you have the secret of my serve, Eiji!" Fuji teased the red hair and returned the ball swiftly. They started a smooth game, volleying ball here and there.

Tezuka sighed as he watched their childishness. Their game was good, but they could've played it more seriously. His eyes strayed to Fuji. The blue eyed boy was smiling and laughing as he played. He was the only one Tezuka knew could play tennis like that. Fuji had changed a lot since the national. Tezuka could feel his determination to win in every game lately. It pleased Tezuka so much to see the growing passion for tennis in his best friend.

But Fuji was still Fuji. He liked to play a lot, and by 'play' it meant as having fun or fooling around. After changing courts, he decided to shock Eiji again with another serve. Even Kawamura shook his head. When would they be playing seriously? Tezuka sighed again. He'd have them run 10 laps after this if they continue.

* * *

Another 15 minutes passed and the game were still on. "Sorry, I'm late!" Ryoma panted heavily as he leaned forward on his knees for support. His shirt was drenched in sweat. He stood up as he walked toward the captain, still wearing his cap. Tezuka looked at him disapprovingly,

"20 laps." he returned his gaze back on the match. Ryoma only gasped. How could there be a man so heartless in the world? He sighed and started tying up his laces. Ryoma looked at the court Ryuuzaki and Tezuka watched intently, spotting the cat-like Eiji bickering with his genius senpai. Even though Ryoma never admitted it out loud and acted like the cocky brat he was, he always admired Fuji and his flawless tennis skill. Ryoma lowered his cap. He was following his honey haired senpai's graceful movements when his eyes met with the blue one. He felt at the split second, Fuji's eyes fixated at him longer than necessary. And he was in the middle of a game.

"Fuji!" Kawamura shouted as he blocked a tennis ball in front of Fuji, causing the ball to go outside the field.

"Out! Fuji, concentrate!" Ryuuzaki suddenly stood up and scolded him. Fuji grinned sheepishly and apologized. Tezuka sighed quietly in relief. Ryoma noticed that and almost grinned when Tezuka suddenly turned around to look at him.

He started running as fast as he could, pretending he didn't hear the "25 laps."

"Are you alright, Tezuka?" Fuji sat beside him, leaning against bench. Tezuka could see sweat trailing down his face. He took out a towel from a bag,

"I'm fine." He handed it to Fuji who accepted is gratefully.

"I'm sorry I never came again since the last time I visited the hospital." Fuji said as he wiped his face and neck. Tezuka watched his friend's every movement. It wasn't like Fuji had any obligation to visit him every day in the hospital, nor did he had to be there when he was discharged, but they were just like that. They had stayed by each others side for a very long time already. They didn't know when did it start this way, but apologizing for 'not being there' was pretty normal for them now.

"It's alright." Tezuka replied and handed him a bottle of water. Fuji took it and quickly gulped generous amount of water. "Careful," Tezuka said as he watched his friend. Fuji wiped his mouth and grinned at him.

"Ne, Tezuka. You're so sweet today." Fuji could never get tired of teasing his stoic captain.

"Break time is over, Fuji." Tezuka reminded him, ignoring Fuji's protest 'Tezuka is trying to kill me.'

"You're lazing around yourself." Fuji smirked, that hit the mark. Tezuka was never going to admit his weakness, that he couldn't afford to enter strenuous activity right away after he was discharged only yesterday.

"Fuji..."

"Ne, why don't we pick up the balls like we did when we were first years? Let them practice swinging a bit more. It's not a heavy thing to do, and it won't upset your stomach." He grinned and teased the captain again. Tezuka frowned in annoyance.

"Fuji."

"Alright. Don't make me run laps, I'm going to die." Fuji smiled and quickly got up. Tezuka also stood up and walked to pick up a strayed tennis ball.

"I never said about going back to the court." Tezuka said as he moved to pick up another ball. Fuji smiled wholeheartedly and started to pick up balls nearby.

"You really are so weird today. Do you eat something unusual?" he asked, a hint of teasing in his voice. Tezuka knew better than to reply.

"Look! Tezuka buchou and Fujiko are picking up balls!"

Tezuka was really tempted to make them run a hundred laps.

* * *

It was another half an hour before lunch, but she was so bored she decided to visit the patient earlier. She opened the ward door, hearing some noise inside. There were two men in the room. One was operating a laptop on the side table, and the other was climbing a chair to reach something on the wall. Both were clad in grey uniforms.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?" she asked politely. Both men turned toward her, revealing familiar faces. They were technicians, working in the same 'special' team with her.

"Hey, it's us," one of them answered. "We were installing new camera at this side, ma'am." He continued and climbed down the chair. She visibly relaxed.

"What is it for? There is one by the door, and there're several more along the corridors." she asked curiously. Just how many cameras were needed to watch the entire room?

"They were asking for cameras with higher resolution." He shrugged and turned toward his companion, "how is it?" he asked.

"It's great, see?" he turned his laptop toward the nurse. She cringed at the image showed. It was live streaming of her at the moment. It was still a bit blurred, but detailed enough to make out her face, smiling and then frowning.

"That's quite... Clear." She commented, slightly stepping aside from the camera's range. But the range were quite large. A typical closing sound was heard from the Laptop.

"It's done. I'm going first." the man excuses himself, packing his laptop and left. She watched until the door closed,

"I don't see why this was necessary." she stated.

"Apparently, someone let a boy into the room a couple of days ago. From what I heard, it was only a boy, looking around harmlessly," he told her. "That hag working at the surveillance room reported it to the boss. You know then, all hell broke lose." He sighed.

"Yes. And I've seen that boy, I met him when I want to tend to the patient," she gestured to the lifeless body on the bed. "For sure he was harmless, got lost when looking for bathroom." She explained.

"I thought so too. But the boss seemed mad, and he said about wanting the boy to be found. But all cameras installed around him couldn't give a clear view of his face." he told her.

"But it's not a big deal! Come on, he's just a kid. He wouldn't even know we're keeping this corpse-"

"Sssh!" he hushed her. She gasped in realization,

"Don't tell me... Oh god." She inhaled deeply at the nod she received from both men. This was absurd. Why would they installed microphones in there also. Were they some kind of obsessive paranoid people or what?

"Hey, let's go out for a second." he asked her. She complied and stepped out of the room. He led her away a bit far from the ward, into a blind spot from the camera.

"Look, we are on the same boat here. People who don't understand, and will _never_ want to understand," he emphasized. "I don't know what they have been doing, or why they've been keeping that boy you called corpse there, and I don't want to know." He said in a low whisper. She only stared at him. "The pay is high, and there's all I need to know."

"Uh... Okay..." she replied as softly, still staring at him. The man sighed,

"I don't know if I should tell you this or not." He whispered carefully. "I heard about a lot of nasty things they did, just a rumor among us, but still it creeps me out. I don't believe any of it you know, because this is a hospital for god sake." He raised his voice a bit without realizing it. She listened carefully, and wondered if things could be more confusing. "And you know what they said that really disturbed me. It was us, the workers on the team two." her brow raised at that.

"team two?" she repeated, questioning.

"Bet you don't know huh?" he chuckled a bit. She could see he was nervous. "We are divided into two teams. To make it simple, there're the team who know everything, and the team who doesn't know a thing. Our jobs is to do standard labor. You see, I fix the camera and everything, but I can't see the records. The guy with the laptop you saw earlier, he can. He's on the other team. But he has a loose mouth, I get to hear interesting things from time to time if we're working together like this." He explained.

"Are you alright with telling me all of this?" she asked. He wasn't the type to keep things to himself also.

"I need someone to talk to, you know." He grinned at her. She rolled her eyes and muttered a thanks.

"I need to go, it's our prince's lunch time." she said. "thanks for telling me all this, I'll see you later." she excused herself. He suddenly called her again,

"Hey, one more thing." he said. She halted and turned to him. "Do you know why they picked us out of hundreds of people in this place?" he asked in a tone that made her shuddered. "I found out our similarities. We don't have any relatives. Creepy isn't it?" He told her. If he looked closely, the nurse already visibly paled. She didn't say a thing after that. "Well, see you later." He picked up his tool bag and walked away.

* * *

"You don't have to walk me home, Fuji." Tezuka suddenly said as they walked down the road. Fuji smiled at him,

"Do we need to discuss this again, Tezuka?" he asked. "I'm concerned about your wellbeing. Something might happen when you walk home." he explained. Tezuka shook his head,

"We passed the way to your house," he said. Fuji tilted his head and pouted slightly,

"I told you I don't mind. Or you don't want me to?" Fuji asked with a mock sad tone.

"I've never said that." Tezuka replied a bit too quickly. Fuji smiled wider.

"Then it's settled." He continued to walk beside his best friend, humming happily.

Tezuka quietly sighed. He didn't make any more comment after that and continued to walk by his side. He was glad Fuji insisted on going home with him. He was feeling well of course, but it was nice to have him there. Fuji always kept him company everywhere since their first year. Despite their class differences, they could always found time to visit each other. At least they were able to see each other at Tennis practice.

Tezuka never wanted to impose on his best friend, no matter how much he enjoyed the other's presence beside him. Sometimes he forgot to reconsider that the feeling was mutual. Fuji also liked to be in Tezuka's company. He wasn't as boring as everyone thought he was. At first Tezuka was afraid he might bore Fuji with his passiveness, or he might hurt his friend's feeling because of his indifference. He seemed to lack empathy and emotion. People never avoided him, but they also never found pleasure socializing with someone like him.

It wasn't like he hated talking. He just found that it was a meaningless activity as long as it didn't serve any purpose or importance. He learnt that too much words could hurt because sometimes you might said something you didn't mean. Fuji knew this and started to fish words out of Tezuka more often. Because the stoic boy was so honest.

While Tezuka didn't like talking that much, Fuji didn't need to talk to have fun. He had a lot more ways to entertain himself. He always in an ecstatic mood everywhere. After a while Tezuka realized, that Fuji seemed the happiest when they were together. And Tezuka was very comfortable being around him.

Oishi was one of Tezuka's closest friend too. While they had a great mutual understanding, they never considered each other's presence as fun. It was purely respect and shared interests, and Tezuka liked it also. But Fuji was different. Tezuka found his company very entertaining.

"This is it." Fuji said as he halted his step in front of a gate. Tezuka's family name was carved on the hanging plate.

"You want to go in?" Tezuka offered.

"No, maybe some other time," Fuji smiled and took a step back. "Oh, I forgot to return your jacket!" he exclaimed, suddenly remembering.

"It's alright, Fuji. You can return it later." Tezuka said. "I can walk you back to your home tomorrow or the day after, then you can return it." he offered. It was very unlike him to suggest something so impractical. They could do that at school anyway. But Fuji smiled again, happy to hear the suggestion.

"Alright then, see you tomorrow." Fuji bid him goodbye. Tezuka replied and told him to be careful on his way back.

* * *

"Rewind the tape again, I want to see when he came in," a voice ordered. The woman working at the surveillance room didn't have a choice but to obey. He insisted on checking the corridor cameras since the video from the camera inside the ward was too dark to make anything out of it.

"We've been at this for hours. It's a boy with a white shirt, using a loose size jacket. From what the attending nurse said, he accidentally spilled some juice on his bed and got lost when he tried to find a washroom," the man who was operating the laptop earlier told him. He met the nurse when he installed the camera with his partner. His good for nothing partner told him what the nurse know. "She said the boy was really harmless, he knew nothing. It is best to leave him be." He added. But the boss didn't seem convinced at all. He was stubborn and irrational sometimes.

"I only ask you to find out his identity. I don't care if he's only a harmless five-year toddler. I want to know." His tone was harsh and low, almost like a growl. The technician fell silent after that and continued looking at the monitors.

It was nearly impossible. The boy was wearing a blue oversized jacket and a white shirt beneath, too common. He was holding a vase of tulips also. They couldn't possibly identify every ward that had the yellow flowers, there were hundreds of them, and it was days ago, people came and went back home.

The woman was sweating bullets, trying to find a clue. The boss was also staring intently at the monitors as they keep rewinding the same video over and over. Two man clad in black suits were standing behind him. They were his trusted men, the ones who manage the teams and giving out orders. Their looks were quite handsome, though the western outfit contrasted the japanese vibe they had. They were seen outside this hidden room sometimes, either in casual outfit or suits alike, conversing with the nurses and patients.

"There." the boss suddenly moved closer to one of the monitor. It showed a nurse halting her step midway, apparently shocked to see someone in the room. The blurred figure of the boy seemed like bowing, nervously turning around. "Rewind a few seconds, and slow it down," he directed. She obeyed and slowed the video and played it backwards. She could see blurred bits of the boy stepping out of the door, backing away from the nurse, then his back for a millisecond faced the camera. The woman gasped as he saw this.

"This is it," she said as she hit the pause button. Part of her wanted to ignore this finding, but the boss already seen it. The paused frame in the video displayed the letters on his back.

"Now, zoom." The boss instructed. She complied and scrolled the button under her finger. The image was so hazy, blurred in pixels. But the writing was large enough to read. Designs of white, blue, and red imprinted on the jacket.

_Seishun Gakuen_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta-ed, possible grammatical errors and inappropriate choice of words (Still learning. Please kindly point them out, I’ll fix them).
> 
> This is my 2012 NaNoWrimo entry.


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